King of the Warriors
by SpartanLegend
Summary: A man finds himself transported to a world of fantasy where two fighting sides are embroiled in a civil war believing he is The Warrior King. This is my first story and therefore my first summary, sorry if it sucks, please go easy on me. NEW CHAPTER ADDED
1. Prologue: Upsetting the Balance

I, Tucker Austin, author of this story, would like to dedicate this story to Aeria games for sparking my imagination to write this story

**King of the Warriors**

**Prologue: Upsetting the Balance**

Nerd: an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit. Also usually very shy. Geek: a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual. These two words described Jacob Robert Johnson to the tee. In fact he was the epitome of both of these words. Jacob Johnson was an electronic/computer genius, mostly due to his photographic memory, who worked for a company called 'Tronix, which manufactured the latest and greatest electronics in the United States. Since Jacob was the epitome of the words nerd and geek he wore glasses, a polo shirt every day with pens in the front pocket, and always carried a scientific calculator with him where ever he went. Jacob though was not fat; in fact he had average build as some would put it. Jacob was 1.83 meters tall, weighed about 75 kilograms, though he wasn't very muscular, had black hair and green eyes. Jacob was not the type who went to parties, social gatherings, or anything that consisted of a group of people. Most of the time he spent his nights and weekends watching movies, playing video games, and surfing the net. Some might call him a slacker, but he was no slacker when it came to calculations at work. He was 21 years of age with a PhD in electronic engineering, which he had gotten by the age of 18, and had worked for 'Tronix for the past three years. 'Tronix manufactured electronics from consumer to military grade. Jacob was one of the thousands of employees working in one building in Chicago, Illinois. He was also the only technician in the company. This was due to the fact that he was a genius when it came to electronics and computers. Also nobody liked him, and nobody cared about him. As long as he did his job, which consisted of him troubleshooting and repairing every piece of equipment that was sent to him, nobody ever saw for the entire day. But Jacob Johnson liked himself and his work just the way it was; he had no obligations to anyone, his parents were dead and he had been an only child. He had no girlfriend, just the thought of a girlfriend made him shudder, no friends, even nerd friends, he was free…and he liked it. But one day that balance, that Jacob Johnson considered his life to be, was about to be upset.

It all started on that fateful day on June 18th, 2009 just after he had successfully troubleshooted and repaired a military grade laptop. Jacob decided to start working on the AC power supply when suddenly there was a flash of light. The light was so bright that he had to shield his eyes. The light grew until it was a portal, at least it looked like a portal, and then a figure stepped out of the portal and into Jacob Johnson's life. The figure was a man, who was about 1.9 meters tall looked like he weighed about 114 kilos, and was very broad and very muscular. The figure looked around and then it stopped when his eyes focused on Jacob Johnson.

"Hello?" Jacob said.

"Are you JRJ?" The big man asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you JRJ?"

After a minute Jacob got it, "You could say that, I am Jacob Robert Johnson, and you are?"

"No time for that now, please come with me, we have to leave."

"Why?"

"Are land is being threatened by a superior force, you must come and stop him."

"You're joking right? This must be a misunderstanding, because unless you have some piece of electronic equipment that needs to be fixed I'm not your man."

"I don't have time for this. I'm sorry Warrior King."

"Warrior King? What're you talking…?" But Jacob never finished his sentence; the man put him to sleep, picked up Jacob and walked through the portal of light.

Jacob opened his eyes and found he was in bed. He sighed and thought, It was all a dream, the muscular man, the portal of light, all of that was just a dream. It's pretty bad when I'm dreaming that somebody takes me through a portal of light just so I can escape work.

"Are you all right Warrior King?" A female voice suddenly said coming next to him.

Jacob jumped and said, "Aaah!"

"I'm sorry I did not mean to scare you, are you alright?"

Somehow he found his voice and said, "W-where am I?"

"You are in the castle."

"The castle?"

"Oh, that's right, you came from the other world I will let Seona explain everything."

"Seona? Who's Seona?"

"She is the princess of this castle, our guide, and our ruler."

"When can I see her?"

"I'll take you to her now, if you wish Warrior King."

"Yes it is, and please stop calling me that."

"Why?"

"Because I'm no warrior, nor a king, and for that matter I'm definitely not a warrior king."

"Warrior King you are too modest." Jacob sank back into the bed and sighed, "Alright you may call Warrior King."

"Oh thank you Warrior King, would you like to see Seona now?"

"Yes please."

"Follow me." He started to follow her when realized he didn't have any clothes on. In less then a second he had scrambled back into the bed by the time she turned around.

"Where are my clothes?"

"Clothes? Oh you must mean your garments."

"Yes my garments, where are they?"

"Your garments did not make it through the passage."

"The passage? You mean the portal of light that I saw?"

"Yes, the passage."

"Great, uh, is there something else I could wear."

"You shouldn't need your warriors garment right now so I will give you your regular garment." Warriors garment? Jacob thought. She handed him a garment which looked like it came from Middle Ages, which he put on in the bed under the covers as she told him how to put them on.

"Now we can see Seona." Jacob said.

"As you wish Warrior King." She led him through a series of halls and flights of stairs until they reached one of the castles spires. This spire was like many he had seen in history books, the one where the top looks like a rooks top in chess. He remembered the entire route due to his photographic memory.

"Lady Seona, the Warrior King seeks an audience with you."

"Thank you Shanay, you may go."

"Yes Lady Seona."

"At last I meet the great Warrior King."

Jacob decided to mimic her so he would sound better, "And at last I meet the great Lady Seona."

"Warrior King you flatter me, it is you who are great, not me." Jacob had never paid much attention to women, especially the beautiful ones, (although there was that one time when he noticed a woman who had just fixed her hard drive by herself who he had thought was techno savvy) but Lady Seona was like one of those flashing signs you just couldn't ignore. Lady Seona was 1.8 meters tall, looked like she weighed 66 kilos and had black hair and blue eyes. Then Jacob shook his head and said, "With all due respect, Lady Seona, I'm not quite sure what I'm doing here."

"Ah, it is just as the prophecy says, "'He will not know his destiny, nor the ways of our people, but once he has learned these things, he will become great.'"

"There's a prophecy about me? How do you know I'm the guy who's supposed to fulfill this prophecy?"

"Because it is said, "'Go through the portal of light, the one who catches your attention first, that one is the Warrior King.'"

"But there was no one else in the room! Just electronics, no humans were around except me."

"Ah so it is true, "'He will come from a land that is not of our kind, but he will lead our kind to victory.'"

"But…wait a second, did you say _our_ kind? You mean you're not human?"

"Are you a human, Warrior King?"

"Yeah, that's what my species is called."

"Species? Oh, your kind."

"Yes, my kind is called humans. But you're not humans?"

"You are correct, we are not humans."

"Then what are you?"

"We are the Aquanites."

"Aquanites?"

"Yes Aquanites of the planet Aqua."

"Never heard of it."

"Just as the prophecy said."

"Let me get this straight, you say that your prophets prophesied about a Warrior King who is not one of your kind, who doesn't know his destiny, and doesn't know your ways, but once the Warrior King learns his destiny and your ways he will become great. Is that pretty much it?"

"Your analysis is correct, Warrior King."

"But there is so many ways to translate those words. For all I know this whole thing could be one cruel joke."

"Joke? Oh, you must mean trick. I assure Warrior King this is not a trick."

"Then what is it?"

"I do not understand what you are requesting."

"Why is this Warrior King so important to you?"

"He is not just important to me, but to all of my people. To answer your question, the Warrior King is prophesied to bring peace back to our planet."

"Peace? You mean you're at war? With who?"

"Yes Warrior King, we are at war, as for whom, his name is Midvel."

"Midvel?"

"The leader of the rest of the Aquanites." Now Jacob was starting to get the picture, it was a classic battle: two factions fighting for dominance, one with a larger army, the other who is the heir to the throne.

"Let me guess, your father and mother died somehow but not before appointing you to succeed them by taking the throne, however since it was Midvel who killed both of your parents, he was hoping to claim the throne as his own, and since you have no brothers or sisters, you have been fighting him, for years probably, to keep the throne. Am I right?"

"It is true just as the prophecy foretold, "He will know the past, the present, the future, and he will know all other things."

"Wait a second, I don't know the past, I know the present, and I definitely do not know the future."

"Then how did you know my past without me telling you?"

"Just a guess."

"You still say you are not the Warrior King."

"That's correct."

"I hope you are wrong, for if you are not the Warrior King, my people and everything that we've stood for will be killed."

"Look I'm sorry about what's happening, I really am, but I am not going to get involved in some harebrained activity just so I can get killed."

"But you cannot die, it is foretold that the Warrior King is immortal."

"Well then, he definitely isn't me."

"Wait! I know how to find out whether you really are the Warrior King."

"How?"

"There are four tests you must perform."

"What are these tests?"

"The four tests are: Test of Mind, Test of Endurance, Test of Strength, and Test of Speed. It is said that the Warrior King will pass all but one test."

"Which one?"

"Silly warrior, you should know that." She said as she descended the stairs.

"Wait! When do I take these tests?"

"In one hour." She said as she disappeared around the corner.

One hour later Shanay came into his room and said, "They are waiting for you."

"Alright, let's get this over with."

"Follow me." He followed her through a maze of corridors, stairs, and doorways until they came into the arena. It reminded him of the Coliseum in Rome.

"Warrior," Lady Seona said from the seats above, "If you truly are indeed the Warrior King you will pass all but one of these tests, do you understand?"

"I understand."

"Then let the tests begin." The first test was the test of mind. For this test he was subjected to many people giving him a situation on a battlefield. Such as, "If you have 381 warriors and you lose 284, how many do you have left?" It was simple math…for awhile. Then it got harder and harder, but he got through it. When that test was over he was subjected to the test of endurance. This test consisted of them giving him two rocks, one in each hand, and telling him to hold up the two rocks as long as possible. Even though Jacob was not very muscular he would not give up on keeping these rocks up. Because of his conviction he held up the rocks for thirty minutes. His arms felt very light after letting the rocks go. But there was no time to rest; the next test was coming up.

The next test was the test of strength; he found that he had to fight the man who had taken him here. The man outweighed Jacob by 85 pounds and was 5" taller then him. And he was very broad shouldered and very muscular. When Jacob swung at his opponent's abdomen he nearly broke his wrist. Then a second later Jacob was hit across the face, what he described as a bulldozer running over his head, and was knocked out instantly. When he awoke he learned that it had been about an hour since the fight, and that he had lost. But he still had one last test to try. The test of speed. He was put up against their fastest runner. They were to sprint 100 meters and whoever got to the finish line first was the winner. Simple right? Wrong, the other sprinter was so fast that he dashed the 100 meters in ten seconds, while it took Jacob thirty seconds. He had lost…again. He had tried his best, he really did, but at least now they would take him back to where he belonged…Earth.

"Warrior, I can now see clearly from these tests that you are not the Warrior King. You may return to former place."

"Thank you, Lady Seona." He said as he headed back towards his room.

"What do we do now, Lady Seona?" Shanay asked.

"We fight to the death, Shanay." In a few minutes Jacob was ready to go. He was happy he was finally going to back to his life, where the balance would be restored. Shanay came in and said, "I will take you to chamber where you will return."

"Thank you, Shanay." As they walked he found himself wondering what would happen to these people. Who cares, he told himself, they got their problems and I got mine. When they got to the outside door of the return chamber, Jacob found himself wondering if he should say any last words. Since none came to him however, he simply said, "Goodbye Shanay."

"Goodbye." As he started to twist the door handle one of the castle walls suddenly exploded.

"Oh no!" Shanay screamed.

"What? What is it?" Jacob asked.

"Midvel." As Jacob squinted, after all he didn't have his glasses anymore, he saw people riding horses carrying swords, spears, and bows and arrows. Already arrows were whizzing past him and others inside the castle.

"We have to get to safety." Jacob said.

"There is no such thing as safe when Midvel is around." Shanay replied.

"What'd we do then?"

"We fight."

"But…" Suddenly an arrow was headed straight for him. His reflexes slowed, he saw the arrow tried to dodge, but his body wouldn't respond. He was like a deer frozen by headlights. His last thought was: game over. Suddenly Shanay jumped in front of him and took the arrow, which went through her heart. Finally his body caught up with his mind and he caught Shanay as she fell towards the ground.

"Shanay?"

"Yes?" She barely whispered.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because I believe you are the Warrior King and that you will lead my people to salvation."

"But…"

"Promise me…promise me that you will lead my people to salvation."

"But Shanay…"

"Promise me."

"Alright, I promise. I promise I will lead your people to salvation."

"Thank you, Warrior King, my life is complete." She said then went limp with eyes glazed over. Respectfully, at least he hoped, he brought two fingers down her eyelids which closed her eyes. He got up and looked at the chaos swirling around him, and for some reason he analyzed the situation and came up with something he never thought he possessed…courage. He thought about his job, his life, his weekends, and then he compared it to this: chaos, adventure, danger, risk, commitment, all of these he had avoided like the plague. So he had a choice: go back to his dull existence, where he was almost guaranteed to survive the rest of his life, or stay here where he would probably get killed in a few days, but it would be an adventure and he would _live_. He looked from the door to the castle. Go back to my dull life, he thought, or to adventure? Balance or chaos? Safety or danger? Comfort zone or courage zone? Jacob then recalled a quote by Arnold Bennett: "The real tragedy is the tragedy of the man who never in his life braces himself for his one supreme effort, who never stretches to his full capacity, never stands up to his full stature." Well Bennett, Jacob thought, I'm going to do something I never thought I would, I'm going to brace myself for one supreme effort in hopes of stretching to my full stature, my full capacity. Hey 'Tronix, he thought, screw you. And at that moment Jacob Johnson was reborn.

Adrenaline surged through his veins as he ran towards the person who had killed Shanay. The person saw him coming and fired arrow after arrow at him. One skimmed his shoulder, another one his side, his leg, and his head. But none of these stopped him from diving and tackling the archer. In one swift punch he also knocked the archer out. "That was for Shanay." He said. He was about to pick up the bow and arrows when a sword caught his eye. It was lying on the ground about ten feet away. He went over to it and picked it up. What he noticed about it was that it reminded him of a Katana, a Japanese sword. It was lighter then a broadsword but it was much quicker. He twirled it in one hand and then he ran for the central courtyard. When he got there he saw Lady Seona fending off men with broadswords. However she was having trouble wielding a broadsword, due to its weight, and she was soon over powered. Jacob slipped into the shadows as he heard a voice say, "Ah, Lady Seona your kingdom is captured, your subjects are captured, now surrender to me." Midvel was about 1.9 meters tall, weighed about 102 kilos, was very broad shouldered and had black hair and brown eyes.

"Never!"

"Come now, if you don't, I'll kill off all of your subjects one by one in front of your eyes."

"You'll never get away with this, Midvel."

"But I already have. Bring me her subjects forward, but leave her alive, I have _other_ uses for her."

"Not if I can help it." Jacob said from the shadows.

"Who said that?" Leaping out from the shadows Jacob said, "I did."

"Who is this?" Midvel asked.

"Don't you recognize the Warrior King when you see him?" Lady Seona asked.

"The Warrior King? You mean that old myth. That's all it is, just a myth."

"Well you know what they say about myths." Jacob said.

"No, as a matter of fact, I don't."

"Some myths turn into legends."

"Kill him." Midvel said. Before his knights had chance to react Jacob had flipped over Midvel and his knights and then knocked out the men holding Lady Seona. Cutting her bonds he said, "Stay very close to me."

"You incompetent fools, get him!" Midvel screamed. They tried, but were not successful. Jacob didn't know how he was able to block their blades from cutting him or Lady Seona in half, but he did…somehow. For some reason he started singing, in his mind, the song Die Another Day which went like this: "'I'm gonna break the cycle, I'm gonna shake the system, I'm gonna destroy my ego, I'm gonna close my body now. I guess I'll die another, it's not my time to go.'" And for the first time in his life Jacob Johnson felt truly…_alive_. When five of the knights went down Midvel said, "I'm surrounded by idiots!"

"I noticed…good help is so hard to find these days, isn't it?" Jacob said.

"I will have your head."

"Go ahead and try." Midvel however decided not to take Jacob up on his offer.

"Next time Warrior King."

"I look forward to it." Jacob said as Midvel retreated along with the rest of his army.

"Warrior King I thought you had left already." Lady Seona said.

"I'm glad I didn't."

"I just knew you were the Warrior King."

"But I failed two of the tests."

"But I saw your strength, your speed, your courage when you fought off Midvel's men. You truly are the Warrior King. Thank you for staying."

"You're welcome."


	2. Chapter I: Breaking the Cycle

**  
Chapter I: Breaking the Cycle**

Jacob knew that he would have to learn just how to truly wield and use a sword, adrenaline had kept him alive last time but he needed more then just adrenaline. So he went around asking everyone if they would train him, but each time the response would be, "I am not fit to train the Warrior King." To that Jacob would reply, "Yes you are." But it didn't matter. None would train him because they thought they were to beneath him. Jacob didn't think so but they did, and there was no way he could change how they felt about him. So he decided, at Seonas suggestion, to read the ancient texts about the Warrior King. It was there that he had run across a text which said that the Warrior King would be taught by a wise old man in the forests of Aqua. It also said that only the Warrior King would know the way to through the forests to the wise old man. It wasn't much but it was all he had. There was also some reference as to how to get the old man to train someone. The text said that you must not come prepared. Do not carry anything but the garments on your back. So that's what Jacob decided to do, he laid down the sword he had used, did not pack anything, and headed out. Lady Seona was at the gate when he passed her.

"Warrior King where are you going?" Lady Seona asked.

He stopped, but did not turn around, and said, "I am going to a place you cannot go."

"Are you leaving us?"

"Yes, but I will be back as soon as I can."

"Why are you leaving us?"

"It is written in the ancient texts that the Warrior King must leave for a little while if he is to bring salvation to Aqua."

"Where _are_ you going, Warrior King?"

"To fulfill my destiny."

"Then I will not stop you."

"Rebuild the wall, build up the defenses. When I come back we will prevail against Midvel. By the way, is there any magic in this world?"

"Magic? What is this magic you speak of?" Lady Seona asked. Jacob smiled and said, "Good."

"I can give you a horse, food, weapons, or any thing else you will need for this journey."

"No, it is written that the Warrior King must make this journey alone and with no provisions and carrying only the garments on his back. Wait for me, for I will be back."

"Goodbye, Warrior King."

"Goodbye, Lady Seona." And with that he left.

A few hours later Jacob arrived at forest. Looking back he could barely make out the castle. Turning back to the forest he took a deep breath and then he disappeared into the forest. The forest was very dense, it reminded him of a rainforest, and the visibility was not great either. Jacob was wondering just how he would find this wise old man, for the ancient texts said that only the Warrior King knew the way. And he still wasn't sure if he really was the Warrior King, but the Aquanites needed his help and he would give it. After a few minutes he found he was at the top of a hill overlooking the rest of the forest. It may be a dense forest, Jacob thought, but it's still beautiful. Suddenly he lost his footing and tumbled down the hill. When he finally stopped at the bottom of the hill he thought, This is not my world, nor is it my element. I should be solving electronic problems not looking for someone to teach me how to use a sword. But then he remembered his promise to Shanay; so he got up and looked around, wondering where to go from here. And then suddenly the ground gave away and he rolled, once again, downhill in a tunnel. When he finally came to a halt for the second time he found he was in a clearing. There was a small house at one end and the rest was just an open field. Then a voice behind him said, "Welcome Warrior King, I've been expecting you."

Turning around Jacob saw an old man, in his late-sixties Jacob guessed, looking at him.

"Are you the wise old man?" Jacob asked.

"What do you think?" The old man asked.

"I think you are."

"What do you want to know?"

"If it pleases you, everything you know."

"Good, I will teach you everything I know, because if I do not the knowledge will die with me. Are you ready to begin?"

"I am."

"Then let's get started." Jacob was first taught basic defense and offense. Then he was taught martial arts and every fighting style. Jacob was also taught the way of the sword, the knife, unarmed combat versus armed combat and hand-to-hand combat. He was also taught about the ways of the Aquanites, their history, the present politics, their culture, the lay of the land, courtship rituals, and wedding rituals. He was also taught how to find true love, and how to keep it. True to his word the wise old man shared his whole life experience with Jacob Johnson. In four grueling weeks Jacob Johnson had been transformed: physically, emotionally, and mentally. In those four grueling weeks he had truly learned everything he needed to know to survive, this was the case because of his photographic memory. In fact Jacob was able to surpass the wise old man in every fight, in every subject, in every way. But the wise old man was glad Jacob could do all of this because he told Jacob of his impending doom.

"You're dying?" Jacob said.

"Yes I am, and that's why I wanted to teach you everything I know so that my knowledge will live on and will still be useful. And now you must complete your quest, you must let go of your past and embrace your future."

"But I already have."

"You have, except for one last thing."

"My name."

"Exactly."

"A new name, huh? Well it makes sense; in every way, except for my name I have let go of my past life. You're right, a new name is order. Because from this moment on, as far as anyone is concerned, Jacob Robert Johnson died in this clearing just now, now there is only Titan."

"Now I can die in peace, thank you for this opportunity Titan, The Warrior King."

"You're welcome, and thank you wise one for teaching me."

"You're welcome." Then the wise old man fell to the ground, eyes glazed over. Titan then picked him up, pushed his eyelids down, covering his eyes, and then took him away to bury his body.

When Titan had finished burying the body and putting a headstone in the ground, marking the grave, he carved into the headstone: Here lies a wise old man who taught the Warrior King the ways of survival. With that Titan, The Warrior King bid a final thank you to the wise old man and then headed for Lady Seona's castle.

"He's been gone for a month," One of Lady Seona's advisors said. "How do you know he didn't just abandon us?"

"Because the Warrior King would never abandon his duty, he is an honorable man, to abandon us would bring dishonor upon himself."

"Lady Seona," another advisor said, "it is remarkable that you found the Warrior King after so many have tried over the centuries. But perhaps it is time to accept that maybe he isn't the Warrior King."

"He is the Warrior King." Lady Seona said.

"He hasn't fully proven himself and he abandoned us, those two facts say that he isn't the Warrior King."

"Those aren't facts, those are lies." A voice said coming into the chamber.

"Who are you?" One of the advisors demanded. "How did you get in here?"

"No locked door can keep the Warrior King out."

"You? You claim to be the Warrior King?"

"Not claim. I _am_ the Warrior King."

"Lady Seona, this is not the man you described to us, he can't be the same man."

"This one _does_ look different." Lady Seona admitted.

"I've changed." And indeed Titan had. No longer was he the scrawny, straight-haired person he had been when he first met Seona. Now his hair was longer and spiked, and all of his muscles were well defined.

"Lady Seona, look into my eyes, you will see that they are the same." Seona gazed into his green eyes and saw that he was who he said he was.

"It _is_ him." Lady Seona said. "This man is the Warrior King; Jacob Robert Johnson is his name."

"Not anymore My Lady, I'm now Titan, The Warrior King."

"You _have_ changed. And you're speaking Aquaese."

"Indeed I have changed and yes I am speaking the language of Aqua. But now that my training is over, I will fulfill my destiny and stop Midvel."

"How are we going to that, Warrior King?"

"With your permission My Lady, I need to meet with your strategists to formulate a battle plan."

"I'll get on it right away."

"Also I need a question answered, My Lady."

"Anything Warrior King."

"Does everyone in the castle know how to fight? Armed and unarmed combat?"

"No. Most of them do not know how to fight."

"Then I will train every person in this castle, including the ones who know how to fight, if that's alright with you My Lady."

"It is Warrior King." Just then Lady Seona noticed her advisors were still in the chamber.

"Dismissed." Seona said. They all started to leave, including Titan, when she said, "Warrior King may I talk to you?"

He stopped and said, "Yes, My Lady?"

"Warrior King, why do you want to train everybody in the castle? That could take awhile."

"Yes it could. But when we go after Midvel I want everyone to be able to defend themselves."

"I see. So the prophecy was true? About the wise old man?"

"Yes it was. He taught me everything he knew."

"_Everything_ he knew?"

"That's right. He taught me everything he knew because he was dying. He's dead now. I buried him in the forest."

"But he kept our ancient tradition of…"

"…Telling all of a persons knowledge and secrets to someone they trust." Titan finished.

"You know about our traditions?"

"Like I said, he taught me everything he knew." There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Well I am going to go rest now." Seona said.

"Of course My Lady, if you need me, I'll be where you first put me."

"Goodbye Warrior King."

"Goodbye Lady Seona." He bowed slightly and then admired her figure as she walked away. Yep, Titan thought, I have _definitely_ changed.

It took a month to train everyone in the castle basic fighting skills which included sword fighting, hand-to-hand combat, hand-to-sword combat, and archery. This was accomplished by Titan teaching a hundred people and then those hundred teaching others and those others taught others and so on. Titan knew that it would be worth it; because if the castle was attacked again, then at least everyone would be able to defend themselves. During that month Titan also trained Lady Seona and her soldiers for the inevitable confrontation with Midvel. Now as Titan watched them practice he saw that he had trained them well, they worked perfectly together, like they should. It was a far cry from when he had first started training them; Titan remembered them tripping over each other and not watching each others backs. But now, now they were ready, he was sure of it.

"Warrior King?" Lady Seona said.

"Yes, My Lady?" Titan replied turning to face her.

"Do you think we are ready now?"

"I do, My Lady."

"Warrior King?"

"Yes, My Lady?"

"Do you think we'll prevail? We don't know Midvels military numbers, or his other defenses, the only thing we know for sure is where he resides."

"True that is, My Lady, but we will prevail, I promise you that."

"Does something trouble you, Warrior King?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"To me it is."

"Yes, something has been bothering me ever since I came back."

"What troubles you?"

"I have a feeling," Warrior King said looking over both his shoulders, "that someone in this castle has betrayed us to Midvel."

"What? Who? Why?"

"I don't know who, exactly, or why for that matter, but I've had this gut feeling that someone is feeding information to Midvel."

"What do you mean you don't know who exactly?"

"I have a hunch, that's all."

"A hunch?" She said looking at his back.

"From where I came from, a hunch, in a certain context, could mean a suspicion."

"So you have a suspicion that someone in this castle is a traitor."

"Yes and I think… I think its one of your advisors."

"What?!"

"I want to try a something to see if we can ferret out this traitor."

"Ferret out?"

"Flush out, expose."

"Ah. I see."

"My Lady I know it's not my place to accuse people of being traitors, especially you advisors, but I'm asking to trust me."

"Alright how do we… ferret out this person?"

"I have an idea."

"No, no, no, no! That is not a good idea." Lady Seona's military advisor said to the Warrior King. "If you go through The Great Forest of Aqua, the units will be torn to pieces."

"Why?" Warrior King asked.

"Because there are dangerous creatures that lurk in that forest."

"Do you know that for a fact?"

"Before this war erupted, fifteen people went to explore The Great Forest, they never came back again. So we sent in a hundred armed soldiers to find them and they never returned."

"But you don't know for sure."

"It is still a bad idea."

"We have to do it; a sneak attack is the best way to defeat Midvel."

"Why not a frontal assault?"

"Because we don't know his military strength or his defenses."

"I advise against it."

"Noted. However we are going to go through the forest and that is final."

"Yes sir."

I hope this works, Titan thought, but it should. Feeding false information to traitors was one of the oldest tricks in the book, at least back on Earth it was. Just then Lady Seona came up to him.

"Well we've baited and set the trap." She said.

"Let's just hope the baits taken soon." Warrior King said. "Because we set out at dawn."

Not surprisingly, Titan was not able to sleep that night. No matter how much he tossed and turned he just couldn't fall asleep. After a few hours of tossing and turning he decided to get up. He put on his night garments and walked out into the cool night. He thought that he should mentally prepare himself for battle, after all he would need every edge over Midvel he could get, but his mind kept wandering to thoughts about Seona. Maybe when all of this is over, Titan thought, we can… Suddenly he heard a door creak! Instantly and silently he dropped into a crouch behind a barrel. Titan cautiously peaked over the barrel and saw a person looking around. Then the person headed towards the gate. Titan followed silently since this was obviously the traitor. The person turned to make sure no one was following them and in that brief second Titan saw candlelight strike the face of the person. Then the person vanished into the darkness beyond the castle. So I was right, Titan thought. I thought it was Barston, Seonas economic advisor. He was the one who tried to convince Seona that I wasn't coming back and that I wasn't the Warrior King. I knew I didn't like him the moment I looked at him for a reason. Well at least the trap was effective, Titan thought.

Walking back Titans thoughts drifted back to Seona. Does Seona like me? He thought. She seems to. Suddenly his mind told him something was out of place, something was not right. He looked around and saw the door Barston had come out of was still open just a hair. Titan went to shut it but stopped when he reached it. Wait a second, this door leads to… Seonas room! Titan opened the door and walked as fast as he could with out making noise, which wasn't very fast. Coming to her door Titan pushed it open, noticing that it wasn't locked. The first thing Titan noticed was Seona laying on her back in bed with almost nothing on, she was wearing just enough to cover the essentials. The next thing he noticed was something on her stomach. As Titan went closer he saw it was a scorpion with blue stripes. Oh, no! He thought. He had heard about this blue striped scorpion from the wise old man. The blue striped scorpion was, the wise old man had said, the deadliest of all land animals on Aqua. One sting would kill a person in less then ten seconds. And now here was one standing on Seonas stomach, who apparently hadn't been stung, although Titan thought it might be because she hadn't moved much yet. Titan had no time to think, so he just reacted. He very quickly grabbed the scorpion and threw it out the balcony window. Seona awoke suddenly.

"Warrior King what are you doing in my room?"

"Getting rid of blue striped scorpions."

"What?"

"Someone put a blue striped scorpion on you while you were sleeping. I threw it out the window."

"But who?"

"I know who, the traitor. And now I know who the traitor is."

"You do? How? Who?"

"I saw the person coming out of your door and followed him. I caught sight of his face. It was Barston."

"Barston? My economics advisor?"

"That's right and he is on his way to Midvels castle."

"So he took the bait?"

"Indeed."

"Thank you Warrior King you saved my life, again."

"Your welcome Seona, uh, My Lady." Awkward silence ensued. "Well goodnight, My Lady."

"Goodnight, Warrior King." As he turned to leave he saw Lady Seona reach for a cup near her bedside.

"Wait! Don't!" Warrior King said and in a flash had the cup out of her hand.

"Warrior King, what are you doing?"

"I'm guessing that Barston had a back-up plan." Titan said pouring the drink on the floor. It hissed and sizzled through the ground as soon as it touched the floor.

"That was acid!" Seona said.

"One type, yes." Warrior King said. "You better be more careful, My Lady."

"How did you know?"

"I didn't, for sure at least, but I just had a… hunch."

"Thank you, my people do not deserve you."

"I'm honored by your words, My Lady, but it is I who do not deserve you."

"You are the most honorable man and warrior I have ever known."

"Thank you."

"Goodnight, Warrior King."

"Goodnight, My Lady." He said leaving the room. But he could tell from her facial expressions that that was not what she wanted to say at all. But he did not have time to worry about that because soon they would march into battle.


	3. Chapter II: A New Dawn

**Chapter II: A New Dawn**

It was time. Titan was the first one suited up for combat in his armor. Then as the rest of his warriors started waking up Titan closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them Titan was gone, only The Warrior King remained, he had entered into his military mode. But he had no other choice, especially since he would be fighting Midvel. He saw Seona come up to him in her battle armor and he started to revert back to his normal mode. But then he concentrated once more and stopped the reversion.

"We are ready when you are Warrior King." Seona said in a slightly different voice. She too had entered her military mode.

"Is everyone accounted for?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go." He said as he mounted his horse. The rest mounted their horses as well and headed towards the gate.

When The Warrior King's army reached The Great Forest of Aqua, Warrior King held up his hand signaling a stop. Then instead of going in, like Barston thought, he said, "General, take your men and go around forest to the right. I will take Lady Seona and the rest of the men and go left."

"You mean you're not going to go through The Great Forest of Aqua like you said?"

"I gave you false information because we had a spy among us."

"Who is it?"

"Its Barston and he is at Midvels castle right now. Now, when you see my signal, you will come and reinforce us, understood?"

"How will I know your signal when you have not told me what it is?"

"You'll know, understood?"

"Understood."

"Let's move out." Warrior King said leading the way.

As the Warrior King's army drew nearer to Midvels castle Warrior King said to Seona, "They're afraid."

"Your men? Can you blame them, Warrior King? It has been a long time since we laid siege to a castle."

"They're our men, Lady Seona, not just mine. As for blaming them, no, I do not. May I ask though, why have you never attacked Midvels castle directly?"

"Before you came, the last of our true warriors were killed in battle when Midvel attacked our castle years ago. This left us with no one knowing how to fight, well not very well anyway."

"Was this the same attack that killed your parents?"

"No, that was many years ago. And that is another story for another time, for now we must concentrate on winning this battle." Just then the Warrior King got a glimpse of one of Midvels castle spires. He held up his hand signaling a stop. Then he turned around and said, "Men and women, the goal that we seek is just ahead. I know that some of you are afraid. But let me tell you that I too am afraid. We all feel fear; it is something that cannot be denied. In fact I want you all to have a measure of fear. Why you ask? Because fear can motivate you to keep alert and survive, _if_, if you control it. But if you let your fear rule you, I promise you, you will die from it. So control your fear and remember that once this battle is won, Aqua will be free from tyranny, free from war, and we will be free from Midvel once and for all!"

"Yeah!" The crowd chorused. The Warrior King looked at his men and thought, Just think, a few months ago I was wasting away on Earth. Who would've thought that a nerd like me would be leading these men into battle. Then the Warrior King turned around and shouted, "Charge!" And they did. All his men followed with renewed zeal. We _will_ win this battle, Warrior King thought. Suddenly Midvels castle loomed overhead and Warrior King knew that they would have archers waiting to pick them off.

"Form T!" Warrior King yelled. Then all of his men used their shields and created what was called the turtle. A tactic the Warrior King learned from studying about the Romans on Earth. The Warrior King, however, was ahead of the group and galloped until he reached the gate. He knew it would be barred with a wooden log. Then he got off his horse and unsheathed his sword and swung the sword downward. Then he got back on his horse and galloped through the gate. I am so glad I sharpened my sword yesterday, Warrior King thought. As the rest of his warriors followed he suddenly stopped them by holding his hand up.

"Lady Seona, welcome to my humble castle." Midvel said. "You have one chance to surrender or your army dies."

"We will never give up and we will never surrender!" Seona said.

"You are surrounded and you still refuse to surrender? Pathetic."

"On the contrary, Midvel, you have played right into my hand, you are so predictable." Warrior King said.

"You again!"

"I will give you one chance to surrender, or you will pay the consequences."

"Who do you think you are?"

"I am The Warrior King."

"Hah! The Warrior King is just an old myth."

"That's funny; you said that the first time we met."

"Wait a second; you're the one who rescued Lady Seona when I attacked last time? Well you've certainly changed."

"Yes I have, and I have come to stop you."

"You can try."

"Now!" Warrior King yelled. Suddenly all of Midvels archers fell from the walls onto the ground. "Attack! For Aqua!" The Warrior King yelled. Then his army clashed with Midvels army. His men fought bravely but they were grossly outnumbered. Warrior King had known that though, and that's why he had to split his army. Once Midvel's men got to confident, then the reinforcements would show up and turn the tide. He didn't like having to do it that way, but there wasn't any other way to win this battle. Time for reinforcements, he thought seeing the condition of the battle. Now I just need to think of a way to signal for those reinforcements and I'll be good. Then he saw a wall and got an idea.

The Warrior King spurred his horse, Tiger Eye, into a full gallop parallel to the wall. He then held his sword out thereby cutting a few centimeters into the wall. Once they reached the end of the wall he turned around, put his sword in his left hand and repeated the same process. He did this a few times and then he pulled on the reins causing Tiger Eye to stand on her two back legs and place her two front legs on the stone wall causing it to fall over. There, Warrior King thought, that should be a big enough signal. Everyone in the castle was so stunned that no one moved for about a minute. Then his men realized that their opponents were stunned and started attacking them again and the fighting resumed. Suddenly The Warrior Kings reinforcements showed up, charging through the front gate. _Now_ we will win, Warrior King thought.

Then The Warrior King spotted the one he had been looking for, Midvel. Midvel was finishing off some of The Warrior King's men when their eyes met. The Warrior King dismounted Tiger Eye and patted her. Then he started walking slowly towards Midvel, seemingly oblivious to the battle around him. When he got within 30 meters of Midvel he unsheathed his sword. It reminded him of a Japanese katana from Earth, whereas Midvels sword reminded The Warrior King of a English broadsword from Earth. So, Warrior King thought, he's got power and strength with that sword but I have speed and agility, this is going to be my hardest and most interesting fight. Finally the gap between them was reduced to about a meter, easily the length of one their swords. At first they circled each other looking into each others eyes, seeing what they were up against.

"I see in fear in your eyes Warrior King."

"And in the end Midvel, that is why I will prevail."

"We'll see." Midvel said. Then he attacked and The Warrior King parried. And now it was on. Before long the clash that would decide Aqua's fate was being waged between two men.

Meanwhile as Barston watched the battle below it was clear to him that Midvels army was now losing. How, Barston thought, how is this possible? I told him everything, troop strength, army skills, I told him everything and its still not enough. I even killed Lady Seona for him, I did everything he asked so how is he losing. Wait! I know! I told him that they would be making a sneak attack on the castle by going through The Great Forest of Aqua and that is where most of Midvels men are at. But they obviously didn't come through the forest, but why? They found out I was a spy and fed me false information. Of course. It all makes sense now. Now if I can get a horse and get most of our army that is waiting near the forest we should be able to win and then I will become very powerful and wealthy.

"Hello Barston." Lady Seona said. Barston turned around and looked astonished to see her pointing a sword at him. "What's the matter Barston, surprised that I'm not dead?"

"How…how did you survive?"

"The Warrior King saw you come out of my room and threw out the blue striped scorpion out the window _and_ he poured out the acid that you put in my bedside cup."

"How did he know about the acid?"

"He is The Warrior King."

"Your Majesty, I know I've made some bad decisions but if you'll give me another chance I promise I'll…"

"Quiet! You betrayed me Barston! To my brother! What gives you the right?"

"How dare you ask that question! Look at all of this! This is not how your parents imagined Aqua in your hands, Seona."

"It has only been like this my brother decided to try and steal the throne out from under me when our parents named me as the next in line to rule Aqua."

"But he is older then you, tradition demands that he be given the crown."

"But my mother and father saw where he was headed, he started craving more and more power and he became crueler and they warned him several times about his path and the consequences of staying on it. But he did, and once he did I was named to wear the crown. You know all of this yet you still side with him and for what? So you can have wealth and power, you are as twisted as he is."

"You are weak Seona, you always were weak and you always will be."

"We'll see about that." Lady Seona said moving closer to him.

"What are you going to do Seona, kill me? Would that really solve anything?"

"Yes it will." Lady Seona said stabbing Barston through the stomach and pulling out the sword. "It solves the problem of having a traitor in my midst." And then she turned and walked away.

The battle between The Warrior King and Midvel raged on as battle for the castle was nearly over with The Warrior King's men victorious. Swords clashed and clanged but neither opponent was ready to give up.

"Give it up Midvel, I have won, you are the only one left in this castle who is not on my side."

"Bah! It matters not, I shall still defeat you."

"If you defeat me then Aqua will be plunged into an Age of Darkness."

"What you call darkness I call freedom."

"And what you call freedom I call slavery. I will not let you win Midvel."

"You are fooling yourself Warrior King, I know the real reason you fight for this land. You fight for my sister."

"Yes I do. Lady Seona is the rightful ruler to Aqua and you are not."

"It goes deeper then that, you are in love with her." Despite all of his preparation for this battle he had not expected that to come up. That distraction had almost cost him his life as well but he quickly regained his composer and continued fighting. However he knew if he denied it Midvel would keep taunting him with it and that would cause him to lose focus. He decided to turn the tables on Midvel.

"You're sister has told me all about you, how you craved more and more power and because of that your parents gave your sister the crown and then you killed them."

"You are in love with my sister I saw it in your eyes when we first met." He's good, Warrior King thought, he's trying to stay focus by talking about my weak point while I talk about his. But maybe I can use this to my advantage.

"Why would I be in love with your sister?" Warrior King said his movements becoming a little off balance.

"How should I know?"

"You're way off course on what's going on Midvel; I'm not in love with your sister." The Warrior King said his swings becoming a little more wide.

"You can't deny it, I know the truth. But you don't."

"What are you talking about?" Warrior King said his blade a little off. Midvel took the advantage and thrust his sword into The Warrior Kings stomach. Or so he thought. At the last second The Warrior King sidestepped and quickly brought his sword around and stabbed Midvel in the stomach looking at him in the eyes as he fell to the ground.

"I win Midvel and you lose." The Warrior King said pulling his sword out. With that Midvel's body went limp and everyone cheered long and hard.

"Men! Woman! Today we have prevailed against our enemy! Midvel is dead! Tyranny has had its day! Today we celebrate our independence day!" The Warrior King yelled.

"Yeah!" The crowd chorused for a full minute.

"Warrior King, you did it." Lady Seona said coming into the circle.

"We did it."

"No, _you_ defeated Midvel alone in battle. _You_ lead us to victory. _You_ have fulfilled one of our most ancient prophecies. _You_ alone are The Warrior King."

"Warrior King! Warrior King! Warrior King!" The crowd kept repeating over and over. I've never felt so alive, Titan thought. It feels good. Then he looked over at Lady Seona and smiled. She smiled back. Maybe now, I can do something I wanted to do for awhile now. He slowly walked up to her and took off his helmet. She also took off her helmet. He started to lean in to kiss her when suddenly one of the men shouted, "Your Majesty, Warrior King, we have freed the prisoners and slaves." Titan looked up and said, "Well done, bring them out." Okay, I'll try again, Titan thought when all of the sudden Lady Seona said, "Warrior King?" Titan opened his eyes and saw her looking at him.

"Yes My Lady?"

"I would like you meet Sir William." William was about the same height and weight and same build as Titan but he had brown hair and brown eyes.

"I am honored to meet you Sir William." Titan said doing the traditional Aquaite greeting bow.

"No it is I who am honored to meet you, Warrior King, we have waited for many years for you to come." That was an insult disguised as a compliment, Titan thought. But he decided to let it slide.

"Did you tell him Seona?" William asked.

"Not yet Will."

"Tell me what?"

"Well, Warrior King, now that you have freed Sir William, things can move forward."

"Yes they can." Titan said still wondering what she was getting at.

"The first step, after the feast tonight of course, will be for us to become one."

"Wait you mean…?"

"Me and Sir William are betrothed and now with Midvel gone we intend to get married and become king and queen." Suddenly Titans head started spinning out of control, it was still trying to assimilate the information it had just received. No, Titan thought, this can't be happening. This all a bad dream, it has to be. But he knew it wasn't. It was reality and he was going to have to deal with it.

"That's…wonderful news."

"So we have your blessing?" Lady Seona said.

"Yes, you have my blessing." Lady Seona smiled and said, "Thank you so much Warrior King for your blessing and for bringing Will back to me." And then Seona kissed Will passionately causing the knife that had been stabbed in his heart to cut his heart in half. When they broke off Seona blushed and said, "Forgive us Warrior King, but we have not seen each other for a long while."

"That's…alright, uh, if you'll excuse me, I have some things to take care of."

"As you wish Warrior King." Seona said as he walked away. He walked over the fallen wall and around the corner and sat against the stone wall and hung his head, heartbroken.


End file.
